Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book frames the study by providing information about research objectives, previous research, an introduction to the Bolivian case, and methodological orientations. It outlines the histories of indigenous politics and state formation in Bolivia as complex articulations between global, national, and local processes. The book focuses on multiple definitions, interpretations, and understandings of Vivir Bien amongst social movements and indigenous activists, as well as in state policies, discourses, and actors. It describes and explains the notion of Vivir Bien as contested practice in Bolivian state transformation. The book examines the translation of indigenous policy ideas into bureaucratic practice and technical expertise, and focuses on the functionings of micropractices of power. It discusses institutional and structural characteristics of the Bolivian state and draws a picture of the state bureaucracy as a disciplinary power.